Microsoft announced that as of October 2020, Exchange Server 2010 will reach end of support. Since other products like Windows 7 and SharePoint 2010 will also no longer be supported as of 2020, consider migrating to Office 365 to improve employee productivity and enhance your digital environment. There’s no time like the present to jump-start the planning process with our consulting team to upgrade to Office 365. The sooner you're able to act, the sooner your business will reap the benefits of modern productivity tools and reduce unnecessary security risks.

More and more businesses are intrigued by and know they should, and need, to move to the cloud. Be cautious, however, as email provided by GoDaddy, your ISP, or Joe's internet hosting service may be using legacy technologies. Does Outlook on your laptop stay in sync when you delete or read an email on your phone? Do your contacts and calendar stay synchronized? If not, you're likely on a legacy platform—upgrading to Office 365 can be a huge improvement to your productivity levels...not to mention mental well being since you won't be wondering if/when you responded to an email.

At IT Protectorate, we can migrate your email accounts to Office 365 quickly and efficiently. We also offer cloud backup and archiving services capable of protecting your email, files, and the majority of the Office 365 suite!

Locking the door to our homes when we leave is something most do on autopilot. If you drive to work, you automatically lock your vehicle after arriving to your destination (I listen for the beep, and sometimes have to walk back to the car at my wife's disgust to hit that lock button one last time). Checking the physical locks in our life is easy, we don’t even think twice. But what about the digital locks, did you lock them too? Does it matter? Most definitely.

Trust me, you are not alone in the never ending frustration of trying to remember your latest passwords. Even those of us who spend our careers in the IT industry can get a bit tired of it. Which is why many people (even though they know better) often use weak passwords. We have all been guilty at one time or another. But, here is the thing: the small inconvenience of selecting secure passwords and updating them frequently is much easier to handle than a data breach. In a sobering reality check, the 2017 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report found that 81 percent of data breaches were caused by a password hack. Think of your passwords like a flood wall made up of sandbags. In one section the sandbags are eight feet tall and four feet deep. Yet, in another section, the wall is only five feet tall and two feet deep. Now, picture flood waters pushing with millions of pounds of pressure on the wall. Maybe the taller and thicker section holds, but then the waters find a weakness in the shorter and more narrow section. Within minutes, the sandbags are pushed aside by the raging waters and the whole neighborhood is buried in damaging flood waters. Like the weaker section of the flood wall, in your organization if even one member of your staff uses a weak password, it exposes the entire business to the risk of a data breach.This month is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM), at IT Protectorate we encourage you to use this month as an opportunity to remind your team of the importance of selecting strong passwords and updating them frequently. #SecureIT and keep your company’s data safe.

TIPS FOR CREATING A STRONG PASSWORD

Avoid common passwords. Do not use "password," "qwerty," "111111," "12345678," "abc123," "password1," or any other easily guessed words/phrases for your password.

Use different character types. Most systems and applications these days require or encourage using upper and lowercase characters, numbers and symbols to create a strong password. Even if your systems don’t (we can help enhance your security settings), it is still a best practice to select a password that follows these guidelines.

Keep it unique. What happens if one app you use personally gets hacked and you used that same password on other systems, including your work accounts? I’ll give you a hint, it’s not good. Be sure to use a different password for each site and application that you use. You can record the passwords in a physical notepad if needed to remember them, but be sure to store the notepad securely and away from your computer. Seriously, if you write it down somewhere—lock it up in a safe and don’t make it obvious what the passwords are for. If someone were to find your notepad, at least send them on a fishing expedition!

Don’t make it personal. Include things like your name, birthday, child's name or other personal information in a password makes it that much easier to get hacked. These are all things hackers can find without much difficulty. Instead opt for unique words and characters that appear to be completely random.

Selecting a strong password is an important piece of your data security shield. In addition, utilizing other tools like multi-factor authentication, using secure networks and practicing privacy precautions on other connected systems (social media especially) are critical to keeping your data safe. The world of technology never stops changing, if you need some advice or want an evaluation on the security of your company, give us a call. #BeCyberSmart and protect your data.

Let's Talk Security!

In today's competitive, always-on landscape, businesses need to be one step ahead of their competitors to thrive and retain their customers. Your business functions on technology and it should be reliable and efficient.

In light of October being National Security Awareness Month, your first objective should be to ensure that your network and interconnected devices are secure against the proliferation of ransomware and malware knocking at your firewall's front door.

Is your firewall's firmware/software up-to-date?

Are you using all of the features included?

DNS protection to block botnets and malicious websites.

Antivirus scanning to prevent malware entering your network in the first place.

Blacklisting web applications that reduce employee productivity (Facebook, Instagram, Game Sites, and websites that go against company policy)

Reporting that gives insight into the data traversing your network

Alerting that proactively removes a device from the network.

Features like these and more are commonplace with what are being called Next Generation Firewalls.

Speaking of Next Generation, the same applies to Antivirus. Several new security software companies have brought new software to market which takes a new approach to Antivirus software. Gone are the days of downloading updates and definitions; now heuristics and intrusion detection and prevention are here.

We're testing these Next Generation products and have found that some are capable of stopping malware in it's tracks and restoring any data and settings that were modified back to their original state—usually in the blink of an eye.

Contact us today to learn more! We'd be happy to have a conversation over the phone, email, or coffee!